


In the Great Wide Somewhere

by katayla



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 20:52:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5942743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katayla/pseuds/katayla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quieter adventure for Rose and the Doctor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Great Wide Somewhere

**Author's Note:**

  * For [angelus2hot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelus2hot/gifts).



The Doctor nodded at Rose. "Go on."

She grinned at him and skipped to the door. She loved this moment. She never knew quite what she would find when she opened the door of the TARDIS (she was becoming increasingly convinced that the Doctor didn't know either). And this time, she'd asked him to surprise her.

She took one last glance back at him before opening the door. His eyes were locked on her face, waiting for her reaction. Rose tilted her head back and thought about how far her life had come in only a few months. And opened the door.

She stepped out onto a barren landscape, full of rocks and steam. She turned around in a full circle. The TARDIS was sitting on the edge of a forest that looked like it could be on Earth. In the distance, she saw a burst of water shooting into the air.

"So, where are we?" she asked the Doctor, as he stepped out of the TARDIS and locked the door.

"Don't know, let's find out," he said, grabbing her hand.

"You do too know," she said, leaning briefly against his shoulder.

He only smiled at her, that wide smile that she loved so much.

"Come on then," he said.

They walked along the edge of the forest. Steam billowed across the rocks and Rose could feel the heat of it brush her cheeks. Then the Doctor tugged her hand and pulled her through the forest.

"Where are we?" Rose asked. "The trees look like Earth, but . . . ."

He didn't answer, but squeezed her hand. After a few more minutes, he led them out of the trees. Once again, they were surrounded by rocks and steam, but this time, spread in front of them, was a pool of water (was it water?) colored in shades of red, yellow, green, blue . . .

"Oh!" Rose said, and let go of the Doctor's hand to kneel at the edge of the pool.

"Er, I wouldn't touch that," he said.

Rose hovered her hands over the pool and felt the heat warm them. "It would be nice to have one of these on the TARDIS on cold mornings."

"The TARDIS is never cold!"

"Yeah, come into my room some morning and see for yourself."

And then she made herself look into his eyes until he looked away and murmured something about heat coils and repairs.

When she had gotten her fill of staring into the water, she stood up and and recaptured her companion's hand. 

"What other wonders do you have to show me?"

"Oh Rose, you have no idea."

And he led her to waterfalls and bubbling pools of mud, and everywhere there were trees and rocks and steam. Once, they saw a bear and her cubs in the distance.

"We're on Earth, aren't we?" Rose asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Yellowstone National Park. Or it will be someday. I wanted to show you some of the wonders of your home planet."

"It _is_ wonderful," Rose said.

"Come here," he said, as if she wouldn't follow him anywhere in the galaxy.

He settled down at the base of a tree and tugged her down next to him. After a moment of debate, she settled between his legs. He went utterly still and then, all at once, relaxed completely and pulled her against his chest. She moved his arms until they encircled her. Rose smiled and closed her eyes. She felt his breath on her hair.

"Old Faithful," he said.

"Hm?"

"That's what we're waiting for. One of the most reliable geysers on your planet. On any planet, really. Years and years from now, your people will crowd on boardwalks and explore all this land. But this will be the most popular. The times for Old Faithful's eruption will be posted and everyone who comes to the park will see it happen."

"Mmm," Rose said. "So when will it . . . erupt?"

"Well, see, that's the glory of it, Rose. We're years away from that kind of predictability."

Rose smiled. "I like unpredictability."

"I know." 

She looked up at him. "This is wonderful. Thank you."

And she reached up to touch his face. He looked at her for a long, long moment, and she thought . . . maybe. But then his gaze flicked behind her.

"Rose," he said.

And, in front of them, Old Faithful started to shoot up little streams of water. They became bigger and bigger, until the water and steam must have reached over 100 feet into the air. And then, slowly, it settled down until there was no hint of the geyser.

"So?" the Doctor asked.

She turned in his lap. "Fantastic."

"Want to watch it again?"

"Yes. When will--"

"I don't know."

"What will we do while we wait?"

"I don't know." He didn't quite meet her eyes.

She reached up and stroked his cheek again. "I have some ideas."


End file.
